A look at how the transfer market may operate this summer, thanks to COVID-19:
With the football season currently on hold indefinitely, many clubs will be turning their attention to the 2020/2021 season. Premier League managers will all be scratching their heads thinking of a new tactics and strategies to try and close the gap to league leaders Liverpool, who ran away with the season and have a 25-point lead over Manchester City in second place.
But with 92 games left to play and the uncertainty surrounding the resumption of this year’s campaign, can teams really prepare for the future? If the season is to be played during the summer, can the transfer window still operate as normal and who could actually be on the move?
The Premier League recently announced that clubs will discuss an option to put a 30th June deadline on the 2019/20 season. However, this could bring a whole host of issues, one of which is player contracts. A number of players contracts are due to expire by the proposed deadline which could cause major issues for managers if they can’t select key members of their squad to play.
Other concerns surround relegation and whether to promote West Brom and Leeds who currently sit first and second in the championship. However, this brings concerns as there would have to be more match weekends during the 2020/2021 season and it would cause an imbalance in the Championship, but this could be resolved if other teams leading the lower leagues were promoted as well.
It was recently discussed at a meeting between the Premier League clubs that the season could be finished in a 40-day window, but the difficulty is that no one really knows when it will be appropriate to restart the season. The Premier League have said they will only resume the season when “it is safe and appropriate to do so” and with the lockdown extended the resumption does not look imminent.
Further questions have been raised around whether players should be allowed to move clubs in the summer transfer window and how long the market should be open for.
Jadon Sancho
Many high-profile players are in the mix for a potential move including England international Sancho. He has been linked with a number of moves away from his current club Borussia Dortmund. The 20-year-old winger has been a target for both Chelsea and Manchester United, but European titans Real Madrid remain an interested party.
The former Manchester City youth player has a reported price tag of over £100m which means any club after his signature will have to dig deep into their pockets.
Kylian Mbappe
French sensation Mbappe could be on his way to Real Madrid, with many newspapers reporting that a deal to the Bernabéu was almost done before the coronavirus pandemic took hold. The Paris Saint Germain forward has been a target for the Spanish side for a while.
Having cost PSG £162 million in the summer of 2018 when he moved permanently from Monaco, there is little question that if he moves again it will be for an astronomical fee.
Harry Kane
Harry Kane could be on his way out of the Tottenham squad. A number of clubs are said to eyeing up the England captain. Kane is an incredibly talented striker, 136 premier league goals to his name and is only 26-years-old meaning any team looking to sign him could be finding themselves writing a cheque for over £200m.
Real Madrid have highlighted their interest in the Spurs striker as have Manchester United, but Tottenham have already voiced that they will not sell Kane to a domestic rival. Former players like Chris Sutton said that if Kane wants to win the Premier League then he should move to a club that has a better chance of success than Spurs.
Kane is such a good player, whether he decides to stay at Spurs or moves on he will be successful.
Should we always have to base a player’s greatness on the size of their trophy cabinet? Alan Shearer won the title once in 1995 but is still regarded as one of the best strikers of all time and remains the Premier League’s highest goal scorer with 260 goals.
However, it must be pointed out that if he had moved to Manchester United in 1996, he could have won five more Premier League titles, a host of FA Cups and even the Champions League.
This is perhaps why many are urging Kane to move on so that come retirement he has some silverware to his name. If I was him, I’d be looking at Man City, Liverpool, Real Madrid and dare I say it, Manchester United.
Others
Other potential transfers include Neymar who could be on his way back to the Camp Nou.
Erling Braut Håland, who burst on to the scene at RB Salzburg has showed incredible talent after his move to Borussia Dortmund. The 19-year-old striker scored a hat-trick on his debut at the Budesliga side and has sparked interest from Real Madrid as well as number of Premier League clubs.
Real Madrid stars Gareth Bale and James Rodriguez could be on their way out of the Spanish club. Bale has had a troubled relationship with Zidane for a number of years and Rodriguez is rarely selected. Both players still have so much talent I’m sure someone will look to take a gamble on them
Football teams across the world are likely to suffer financially as a result of coronavirus meaning big spending on players might not be viable.
One positive that could come from this is a more reasonably priced transfer market. Top players could drop to a more realistic value meaning that the silly record fees of previous years may change for the better.
Whatever happens, football on the pitch might be the same, but off it, things could change and hopefully for the better.
By Sam Phillips